Due to the nature of grassroots organizing, when working
alone, it can often be
hard to gather the sufficient amount of energy necessary to organize
effective
campaigns that bring about serious changes to humanity's attitudes and
actions
toward other animals. Too frequently, grassroots animal rights
organizations work
independently of each other, each group working on separate issues,
thereby
minimizing the potential impact we as a movement can have. However, the
Neiman Marcus campaign provides us with an opportunity to have a serious
impact on the business policy of a multinational corporation while using
the
campaign to generate publicity for the anti-fur (and therefore animal
rights)
movement.

Goals of the Campaign

The purpose of the campaign is twofold. The primary goal
is to convince Neiman
Marcus to stop selling fur products. This includes not only fur coats,
but any
product that contains the fur of a once-living animal (e.g., fur trim,
etc.). The
campaign is not limited to any one Neiman Marcus location in particular,
but
rather is calling for all 31 Neiman Marcus stores to adopt a more
compassionate
business policy by not selling any fur products. Until this goal is
achieved, the
animal rights movement is calling for a boycott of all Neiman Marcus
products.
The secondary goal of the campaign is to shed light on the horrific
animal abuse
committed by the fur industry by generating enough publicity to throw
the fur issue
back into the national spotlight.

Why a Neiman Marcus Campaign?

In past years, many grassroots groups (COK included)
have focused much
attention on small furriers with the hopes of convincing them to stop
selling fur.
First, it should be noted that very few of these campaigns have ever
succeeded.
With only a couple of exceptions, all of the furriers targeted are still
profiting off the
lives of innocent animals. However, even if grassroots groups did have
the potential
to convince small furriers to stop selling fur and succeeded in doing
so, the overall
effect suffered by the fur industry would still be negligible. The
majority of fur is
sold in department stores like Neiman Marcus and Macy’s East. Smaller
“mom
and pop” stores contribute only a minimal percentage to the fur
industry's annual
income.

Now, compare the difficulty of convincing a company to
stop selling the only
product it offers and convincing a company to merely stop selling one of
hundreds
of its products. Needless to say, the latter option is much more
feasible. Now,
compare the overall effect on the fur industry of stopping one small
store from
selling fur, or stopping an entire chain (in Neiman Marcus’ case, 31
stores). Again,
the latter option would have a greater impact on the industry as a
whole. Indeed,
ridding department stores of fur products seems to be the best way to
hit the fur
industry where it hurts most. Only after stores like Neiman Marcus and
Macy’s
East give up fur products should we begin to target smaller, less
significant stores.

What It Will Take . . .

The tactic of focusing on department stores is not new,
by any means.
Grassroots activism on the West Coast convinced Macy’s West to close
their fur
departments for good. A well-organized Neiman Marcus campaign could do
the
same. However, the key word is organized. Random protesting with
occasional
acts of civil disobedience are not going to provide sufficient incentive
for Neimans
to close its fur departments.

What is needed to achieve our primary objective is the
united and concentrated
effort of the entire grassroots community — not just a few groups
working on the
campaign, not just working on it during the winter months, not just
focusing on
both Neimans and small furriers as well. In order to win this campaign,
all of our
anti-fur resources must be pooled and directed at Neiman Marcus and
Macy’s
East. It may take a long time, possibly even years. But what's the
alternative?
The abolition of animal exploitation will not come overnight. The
struggle for animal
rights requires a long-term commitment from anyone seriously interested
in
promoting freedom and justice for all. Ridding Neiman Marcus of fur is a
giant step
toward obtaining that goal.

We don't have the resources many national organizations
possess. To make up
for our seemingly small numbers, the grassroots community must unite and
struggle for the common goal of making Neiman Marcus fur-free.

Compassion in Action!

To further the campaign to get fur out of Neiman Marcus,
COK has:

* Created a Neiman Marcus parody Web site at: http://www.neimans.org

* Created and distributed thousands of our Why Should I
Boycott Neiman Marcus?
brochure (visit COK's Web site at http://www.cok-online.org to learn how
to order
literature).

* Created a professional banner reading, Fur Is
Murder—Boycott Neiman Marcus!

* On August 29, about 40 COK activists staged a protest
in front of Neiman
Marcus, attempting both to educate the public about the horrors of the
fur industry
and to convince Neimans to close its fur departments.

* Nearly 30 activists returned to Neiman Marcus on
September 12 to picket,
chant, and distribute hundreds of the Why Should I Boycott Neiman
Marcus?
brochures.

* Taking advantage of the holiday sales that usually
attract higher consumer
volume, COK activists converged upon Neiman Marcus on October 10,
spreading the anti-fur message to thousands of potential Neimans
customers.

* On October 24, more than 25 COK activists held another
protest at Neiman
Marcus, furthering the campaign to convince them to stop selling fur
products.

* On November 14, nearly 35 protesters took to the
sidewalk in front of Neiman
Marcus, demanding that they cease profiting off the torture and deaths
of
countless fur-bearing animals.

Take Action!

* Boycott Neiman Marcus until it stops selling fur
products.

* Call Neiman Marcus toll-free at 1-800-937-9146 (ask
for the executive office) and
tell them that you won’t tolerate torturing and killing animals for
vanity and are
boycotting Neiman Marcus until it wipes its hands clean of the cruelty
inherent to
the fur trade.

* Organize public demonstrations outside of your local
Neiman Marcus aimed at
persuading them to choose a more compassionate business policy. Contact
COK
for literature to distribute in your area. Visit our Web site at:

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